King of the Ring (2006)
King of the Ring (2006) was the nineteenth annual King of the Ring tournament produced by WWE for Extreme (WWEFE, or WWE). The tournament was held between August 14 and August 27, 2006. It was the second King of the Ring tournament to take place after WWE's brand extension. The 2006 tournament was the first time the formerly annual event had been held after it was discontinued in 2002. The tournament was won by Kane. Matches The 2006 King of the Ring tournament was only exclusive for WWE's RAW and SmackDown! brands. The quarter-final and semi-final rounds took place on editions of RAW and SmackDown! from August 14 to August 25. The final round took place at SummerSlam. Quarter-Finals The first quarter-final match in the 2006 King of the Ring tournament took place on the August 14, 2006 edition of RAW between Swift and Jino Hardy. The match began sportsmanlike, with a handshake. Soon both men were all business, however, with Swift looking for a Dead level early on. Jino countered into a dropkick, with a clothesline attempt following. Swift countered with some quick blows, but Jino turned things around with a spear. Jino looked to end the match with a Head Shifter, but Swift countered the move into a sharpshooter. Jino managed to escape, looking to hit Swift with a suplex. Swift managed to counter, eventually hitting Jino with the Complete Shot. After that it was only a matter of a three count and Swift managed to advance to the next round of the tournament. The second quarter-final match took place on that same edition of RAW between James Marrow and Eddie Guerrero. The match began with a handshake, but soon Marrow took Eddie down with a short-arm clothesline. Eddie came back with force, knocking Marrow into the corner with hard shots. Marrow came back with quick attacks, eventually taking his opponent down with a running clothesline. Eddie came back with a snap suplex, and Marrow with a dropsault. Eventually James managed to lock Eddie in a sleeper hold, which Latino Heat eventually fought out of. James kept Eddie disadvantaged with a swinging neckbreaker, before going for a moonsault. Eddie rolled out of the way, however, and locked Marrow in the Lasso from El Paso. Marrow refused to give up, however, and managed to escape using the ropes. Eddie began to target the legs of Marrow, but James came back with a well-placed dropkick. Eddie regained the advantage, however, using the Three Amigos. He looked to follow up with the Frog Splash, but Marrow rolled out of the way. James took advantage with a Cradle Piledriver, picking up the narrow victory and advancing to the next round. The third quarter-final match took place on August 15 edition of ECW between Scarab and Chris Hunter. Hunter gave up a lot of size to the monster known as Scarab. He tried valiantly, but his attempts to knock Scarab off his feet earned him a Black hole Slam. Scarab then grabbed a chair, taking advantage of ECW’s Extreme Rules. He used the chair to further soften up his opponent, using both the weapon and a few power moves to keep Chris on the mat. With his opponent down, Scarab grabbed a sack of thumbtacks and some barbed wire. He wrapped the barbed wire around his opponents body before dumping the thumbtacks out onto the mat. Scarab then hit Chris with the Black Hole Slam onto the thumbtacks, and used the chair to drive the barbed wire into his chest. He went for another Black Hole Slam, but the move was reversed into a Tornado DDT by Chris. Chris followed up with a Downward Spiral, but could not capitalize. Scarab recovered first, and began to pulverize Chris, taking him down with a DDT. He followed up with the Sandstorm, followed by the Dessert Storm. He then scored the pinfall, advancing to the next round of the tournament. The final quarter-final match took place on August 18 edition of SmackDown! between Kane and The Ultimate Warrior. Kane took the Warrior down with a suplex, but an undeterred Warrior repeatedly knocked Kane to the mat. Kane kept getting back to his feet, however, eventually dodging a standing legdrop simply by sitting up. Kane knocked the Warrior off his feet with a big boot, and soon Kane was on the top rope. He flew off for the flying clothesline, but Warrior countered with a dropkick, catching him in midair. Kane knocked Warrior off the ropes with an uppercut, catching him on the rebound by his throat. The Ultimate Warrior escaped with a belly-to-belly, and soon the two big men were exchanging blows. Warrior backed Kane into a corner, but Kane’s bloodlust was fueled by the blood smeared on him and took Warrior down with a hard clothesline. He followed up with a diving fist, soon whipping him to the far corner. Warrior dodged Kane’s attack, however, and the Big Red Machine crashed into the steel ring post. Warrior stepped up his assault, but Kane fought back with valor. Kane managed to grab a hold of Warrior’s throat, and backed up onto the turnbuckle for a Super Chokeslam. He then pinned Warrior for the win. Semi-Finals , the winner of the 2006 King of the Ring tournament.]] The first match of the semi-final round of the King of the Ring tournament on the August 21, 2006 edition of RAW, between Kane and Swift. Swift refused to back down from his larger opponent, but the power of Kane kept him from mounting a solid offense. Swift was soon thrown into the corner, but used his speed to send Kane crashing into the same turnbuckle. Swift tried to take advantage with a crossbody, but Kane caught him and hit him with a backbreaker. Kane continued the assault, and Swift had to go to the outside to take a break. Kane followed, sending Swift head-first into the announce table, and then straight into the steel steps. Kane then began to strip the announce table, but Swift recovered and hit him with a missile dropkick off the steps. He managed to roll Kane into the ring, and went for a diving crossbody as he stood. Kane caught him, however, and hit the smaller opponent with a sidewalk slam. Kane went to end the match with a chokeslam, but Swift countered with a DDT. Kane recovered quickly, charging his opponent with malice. Swift lived up to his name, ducking a big boot and backing Kane into the corner. He then hit Kane with a monkey flip before scaling the turnbuckle. Before he could leap off, however, the signature bell of the Undertaker tolled, giving Kane the time to land a diving chokeslam. After that it was merely a three-count to pick up the win. The second semi-final match took place on the August 24, 2006 edition of SmackDown! and was between James Marrow and Scarab. Marrow began the match pre-emptively, spearing Scarab as he entered the ring. With the match not officially started, Marrow took advantage and used a chair to soften the monster up. Finally he rolled Scarab into the ring, and the match began. Marrow quickly to the outside of the ring, and while the referee began to count Marrow out, a man in a ski mask entered behind them. As Scarab got to his feet, the masked man dropkicked a chair into him. As the stranger left the ring, Marrow returned to pin Scarab and pick up the win. The intruder then removed his mask revealing himself to be JKB Kid, and he and Marrow celebrated the big win. Finals The final round of the King of the Ring tournament took place at SummerSlam between Kane and James Marrow. Marrow began the offensive, but the power of Kane kept him from gaining any sort of advantage. Kane began to dominate Marrow, using power moves to slow him down. Marrow was backed into a corner, where Kane attempted a spear. James dodged, sending Kane into the steel ring post. Marrow took advantage with a missile dropkick, prompting an angry Kane to begin choking the life out of his opponent. Marrow dodge Kane’s next attack, and soon the two were trading blows. Kane gained the advantage with a big boot, dragging The Future out of the ring to throw him into the steel ring post. Kane continued the assault, but Marrow managed to avoid an attack and caught him with a crossbody. The two returned to the ring, where the battle raged on. Kane began to regain the advantage, brought Marrow to the corner for a ten punch. James managed to escape the tenth blow, pushing Kane off the turnbuckle and into the barricade on the outside. Marrow followed him with a dropkick before the fight spilled into the crowd. Kane rammed Marrow into the barricade, but Marrow managed to suplex Kane back over the barricade and onto the arena floor. The two returned to the ring, where Kane went to chokeslam Marrow, but received a DDT for his efforts. Kane still managed to come back, this time connecting with the chokeslam. At this point the lights dimmed, and when they returned The Undertaker had a bloody Seanyboy strapped to a cross. This sight terrified a recovering Marrow, who blindly walked into a second chokeslam from Kane. As Undertaker and Seanyboy rose towards the ceiling, Kane pinned Marrow to pick up the win. Aftermath Many rivalries were created because of the matches in the King of the Ring tournament. Two of the participants of the tournament, Swift and Scarab, competed at SummerSlam for a shot at the WWE United States Championship, with Eddie Guerrero as the Special Referee. Swift won after hitting Scarab with the Shooting Star Press, although he failed to capture the United States Championship. As a result of winning the 2006 King of the Ring tournament, Kane was briefly pushed towards the World Heavyweight Championship, although he was forced to take time off before the angle could be completed. Locations Tournament brackets The tournament took place between August 14 and August 27, 2006. The tournament brackets were: Category:King of the Ring Category:SummerSlam